Application of the Symbolic Machine Learning to Copernicus VHR Imagery
The ESM_2015 is the latest release of the European Settlement Map produced in the frame of the GHSL project. It is produced with the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) technology of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in collaboration with the Directorate General of Regional and Urban Policy. The workflow was executed on the JRC Big Data Analytics platform. It follows-up on the previous ESM_2012 derived from 2.5 m resolution SPOT-5/6 images acquired in the context of the pan-European GMES/Copernicus (Core_003) dataset for the reference year 2012. The ESM_2015 product exploits the Copernicus VHR_IMAGE_2015 dataset made of satellite images Pleiades, Deimos-02, WorldView-2, WorldView-3, GeoEye-01 and Spot 6/7 ranging from 2014 to 2016. Unlike the previous ESM versions, the built-up extraction is realized through supervised learning (and not only by means of image filtering and processing techniques) based on textural and morphological features. The workflow is fully automated and it does not include any post-processing. For the first time a new layer containing non-residential buildings was derived by using only remote sensing imagery and training data. The produced built-up map is delivered at 2 m pixel resolution (level 1 layer) while the residential/non-residential layer (level 2) is delivered at 10 m spatial resolution. ESM_2015 offers new opportunities in Earth observation related research by allowing to study urbanisation and related features across Europe in urban and rural areas, from continental to country perspective, from regional to local, until single blocks.
ESM_2015 was validated against the LUCAS 2015 survey database both at 2 and 10 meters resolution (including also the non-residential class). The validation has resulted in a Balanced Accuracy of 0.81 for the 2 m resolution built-up layer and of 0.71 for the 10 m non-residential built-up layer.
SABO Filip;
CORBAN Christina;
POLITIS Panagiotis;
KEMPER Thomas;
2019-10-30
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC118076
978-92-76-12184-8 (online),
978-92-76-12183-1 (print),
1831-9424 (online),
1018-5593 (print),
EUR 29886 EN,
OP KJ-NA-29886-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-NA-29886-EN-C (print),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC118076,
10.2760/25824 (online),
10.2760/979189 (print),
